Another ignition switch failure.

T Evans

Supercharged
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
394
Location
North Central Oklahoma
I had another captain contact me from another town last week and asked if I would mind if he could ride my bike and see if he would like going over to the darkside. I told him sure but that by riding my bike would spoil him because he wouldn't be used to that much power, LOL.
He came by the house and after work last week and we took off on each others bikes. Evarything was going great until we stopped for a drink about 20 miles out of town. We went to leave and his bike would'nt start. The ignition switch had gone out. He has a 06 Classic like mine with about 16k on it. I noticed that when I got on his bike that his brights were on. I told him that I had read here on the web that there has been several ignition switch failures. He called the dealer and they confirmed his deepest fear that it was probably the switch. The dealer informed him that if he would get the bike to them that they would probably replace it under warrenty which is a good thing.
So here he is 50 miles from home with a bike that he can't get started. Fourtunatly I had a friend in this small community and I called him to see if we could leave the bike at his place until he could get back the next day with a trailer. Come to find out he had a trailer so I went back to my house and got my truck and came back and hooked up and took him home.
Now the question is. Should I go ahead and replace my switch before mine leaves me on the side of the rode someplace.
I feel that one of the reasons his failed sooner than mine is because he always runs his lights on bright during the day. Which is a good thing. I think I am going to give the dealer a call and see if they will replace mine before it fails.
Has anyone else had thier ignition replaced by the factory before it failed.

Big T
 
I had another captain contact me from another town last week and asked if I would mind if he could ride my bike and see if he would like going over to the darkside. I told him sure but that by riding my bike would spoil him because he wouldn't be used to that much power, LOL.
He came by the house and after work last week and we took off on each others bikes. Evarything was going great until we stopped for a drink about 20 miles out of town. We went to leave and his bike would'nt start. The ignition switch had gone out. He has a 06 Classic like mine with about 16k on it. I noticed that when I got on his bike that his brights were on. I told him that I had read here on the web that there has been several ignition switch failures. He called the dealer and they confirmed his deepest fear that it was probably the switch. The dealer informed him that if he would get the bike to them that they would probably replace it under warrenty which is a good thing.
So here he is 50 miles from home with a bike that he can't get started. Fourtunatly I had a friend in this small community and I called him to see if we could leave the bike at his place until he could get back the next day with a trailer. Come to find out he had a trailer so I went back to my house and got my truck and came back and hooked up and took him home.
Now the question is. Should I go ahead and replace my switch before mine leaves me on the side of the rode someplace.
I feel that one of the reasons his failed sooner than mine is because he always runs his lights on bright during the day. Which is a good thing. I think I am going to give the dealer a call and see if they will replace mine before it fails.
Has anyone else had thier ignition replaced by the factory before it failed.

Big T


or you can install an H4 relay kit from this guy (Motorcycle Relay Kits, Parts, Powerlet, Centech, Posi-Lock, and More!) to take the load off the switch.
 
or you can install an H4 relay kit from this guy (Motorcycle Relay Kits, Parts, Powerlet, Centech, Posi-Lock, and More!) to take the load off the switch.
I did that mod last week ... it really does make the lights brighter.
When my switch failed I'm pretty sure I caused it with my aux lights being run through the switch. They are now on a relay and so are the headlights, the ignition swich should now last forever. LOL
Before mine failed for good, it was causing all kinds of weird problems like intermittent high idle and dying on the highway.
I don't know how much they cost, but it might not be a bad idea to have internal replacement parts handy if they are available separately. When they do it under warranty they replace all the keyed locks on the whole bike so that there aren't multiple keys. That might be costly.
 
My switch failed because the solder connection broke, and I think that has been the case for a lot of others. I recommend anyone replacing the switch to keep the connection harness of the old one, that way if the new switch fails you can easily get out of the mess by lifting the tank, unplugging the new harness, plug in the old, and hotwire yourself back on the road. No muss, no fuss, no removing the new switch on the side of the road. Better yet, have the old switch already wired to a toggle switch so all you have to do is flip the switch and go.
 
Ok So which one do I get?
I got the one that has a switched low beam, that way I can turn off the headlights. I thought that option would come in handy if the battery was low while starting or I needed to charge the battery faster at idle.
 
Good write up. My Rocket is going in next week to have the wiring harness replaced. I first thought it was the ignition switch but after further investigation found out it was the wiring harness. I have an 09 with less than 5k miles. Anything to take the load off the already fragile ignition is a plus. Thanks for the info.
 
biker1059, what is wrong with the harness ? I have a 09 and would appreciate a heads up.


I'm not sure if this what biker is referring to....

But Triumph is replacing the ignition connection for the 2005-2007 bikes. When I had the upgrade kit installed, one of the parts to be replaced was the ignition connection into the wiring harness. Check you connector and if it's one of the white, open-wire designs and not the gray weather-pack connect, you may want to check with your service provider.

I had the rivco ignition relocation kit installed so I asked them NOT to install the new connector. I ended up installing it myself by cutting the end of the rivco extension and replacing it with the new connector.

I still have the old connector on the wiring harness and I haven't had any issues to date.

I'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND not wiring any accessories off of the key circuit... use a relay instead. The wiring in the ignition switches appear to be VERY touchy.

Hope this helps.
 
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